Losing His Princess
by flyergrad09
Summary: McGee loses someone very near to his heart. Warning: character death! This story is a bit darker than the other stories I've written, but this is actually the first fanfic I wrote. Rated T just to be safe. 1 chapter/day!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own NCIS or any of their characters. But I wish I did.

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Losing His Princess

By: flyergrad09

**Chapter One**

Shrieking. More specifically, shrieking violins. Tim McGee groaned and rolled over to look at his iPod alarm clock.

"Linkin Park," he muttered under his breath. It was entirely too early in the day to listen to that at full volume. Just as he was about to hit snooze, a slobbering Jethro came bounding in the room and licked him in the face.

"Okay, okay. I'm up," Tim told the dog, as if he could respond. Sighing, he swung his legs out of bed and switched off his alarm. "I bet you want let out, don't you?" he questioned his German Shepherd. He slipped into a worn out pair of slippers and grabbed Jethro's leash as he headed to the door.

Outside the morning air was crisp and cool. It was the perfect start to fall, at least for those who could enjoy it. Today was a precious commodity for Tim - a day off. He planned to spend it relaxing with his trusty typewriter, at least until noon when he had lunch planned with his sister, Sarah. She had started graduate school at Georgetown a few weeks earlier and Tim was taking her out to lunch to celebrate making it through her first exams of the semester. He was so proud of her for not only graduating college, but for continuing her passion for English in grad school as well.

Once Tim and Jethro were back inside, he unclipped his dog from the leash and Jethro took off running to the kitchen, where he knew his breakfast would be waiting for him. Tim rolled his eyes at the animal. You would never know that he was trained to sniff out drugs from the way he behaved sometimes. Just then Jethro knocked into Tim's writing desk, causing a framed photo to crash onto the floor.

"Jethro! Bad dog!" Tim yelled at the dog. He wrestled his canine companion into his travel carrier so he could clean up the broken glass without worrying about Jethro accidentally stepping in it. He picked up the cracked frame and flipped it over, revealing a picture of Abby Sciuto. Aside from Sarah, she was the closest thing to a best friend he had. Even though they had hit rough patches in their friendship, she always knew how to make him smile.

Sighing, Tim laid the frame on the desk, out of harm's way. After scooping up the broken glass, he took a shower and sat down to write. Ever since _Rock Hollow_ had almost cost Abby her life, he took extra precaution to disguise his characters. Although he was still writing crime novels, he no longer wrote about L.J. Tibbs and company. It was safer for everyone, but it made writing more challenging for Tim. He just couldn't seem to get behind his characters in this story. Who were they? What were their motives?

About an hour later, he looked up and realized he never fed Jethro his breakfast. He let the dog out of his cage and poured some kibble into his bowl. Patting Jethro on the head, he apologized and said, "Let's not tell Abby about this mishap, okay?"

To make up for his mistake, he switched on his Miles Davis record. A love of jazz was the only thing he seemed to share with Jethro. Whenever he played it, Jethro calmed down and behaved as man's best friend should. Plus, it didn't hurt that it helped Tim work through his writer's block. Once again, he sat down at his typewriter to figure out who his characters _really_ were.

Just as he was starting to get a hold of his new main character's voice, he was jarred out of his thoughts by a high pitched chirp. He glanced at the caller ID on his phone. _Energizer Abby, Queen of the Lab_. Tim had made the mistake of letting Abby hold his iPhone when he first got it, and before he knew what was happening, she was setting her own ID, complete with a silly picture of her making her 'Gibbs face' that would pop up on the screen when she called.

"Hey Abs," Tim said with a little chuckle.

"Hi McGee! Whatcha doin'? Oh wait, don't answer that. Let me guess! Okay… you're listening to jazz. Either you're writing or you're trying to make Jethro fall asleep."

"Abby, for the millionth time, I told you he actually likes jazz."

"Then why does he fall asleep whenever you play it? I bet he's bored to tears. You should let me play some Brain Matter for him!"

"He's already got too much energy for his own good; you don't need to help that along in any way. So why did you call?"

"Oh right. Do you have plans today?"

"Well, I have lunch with Sarah in a little bit, but after that I'm free. What did you have in mind?"

"Some of my friends are playing at an outdoor charity concert today. The money goes to help kids who are battling leukemia. Do you wanna go with me?"

"Sure. Why don't I pick you up after Sarah and I are done with lunch?"

"Sounds good! Oh, and tell Sarah she can come too if she wants."

"I'll be sure to ask, but my guess is that she'll be spending her afternoon in the library. Grad school is kicking her butt."

"You should tell her that she needs vitamin D from the sun to help her keep her blood pressure in check. With grad school stressing her out, she could use all the vitamin D she can get!"

Laughing, Tim replied, "Right Abby. Somehow I doubt she'll see your logic, but I'll pass the message along. I'll see you in a bit."

"Bye McGee!"

She could never cease to amaze him. Abby was one of the most intelligent people he knew, but she never boasted about it. She was just… Abby. Tim knew far too many eggheads from MIT and Johns Hopkins who were geniuses and made sure everyone knew it. Sometimes he fell victim to his own pride as well. But Abby always seemed to keep her ego in check. It was one of the things he loved the most about her.

Lost in reverie, Tim barely noticed something wet on his arm. Before he looked down, he already knew who the culprit was. Jethro had decided that it was either snack time for him or bath time for Tim.

"Jethroooo…" Tim groaned. "You already had breakfast and it's not my fault that you ate it all in one gulp." Noticing the time, he realized that he only had half an hour left before he was supposed to meet Sarah. He quickly threw on jeans, a plain gray t-shirt, and a pair of comfy sneakers.

"Okay boy, be good while I'm gone," Tim told Jethro as he dashed out the door. As he jogged to his car, he realized that he spent an awful lot of time talking to his dog. "At least he doesn't have a choice but to listen to me," Tim thought to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own NCIS, but I wish I did!

**A/N:** This chapter seems short to me, so I'll probably post two chapters today. No promises, though!

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**Chapter Two**

As Tim pulled into the parking lot of the Osmosis Café, he noticed that Sarah's car was already in the lot. "Figures," he muttered under his breath. "The one time I'm late, she's on time."

Tim walked into the trendy restaurant and was greeted with a peppy "Tim! Over here!" He looked in the direction the voice was coming from and saw Sarah waving and smiling. "Well she's in a good mood," he thought to himself.

"Hey Sarah, how are you doing?" Tim asked as he gave his little sister a hug and sat down.

"Fantastic! I just got my British Poets exam results back and I got a B+!" she announced.

"That's great!" he earnestly told her. "But, uh, you usually aren't happy with anything lower than an A."

"I know, but that was undergrad. The material we're covering now is so much more in depth. You wouldn't believe all the information I've shoved into my brain in the last few weeks!"

"Oh believe me Sarah," he responded. "It wasn't all that long ago that I was working on my master's. At MIT-"

"Tim, please," Sarah cut him off. "This isn't about you. Or MIT. Or computers."

Stunned, he shut his mouth. He sat in silence for a moment. This wasn't like Sarah to sass him like that. She must be really worried about something. He stared at her, trying to see if she was going to give him any clues as to what was wrong. Nope. Unlike her older brother, Sarah McGee had an excellent poker face.

"So," Tim started to say, right as the waitress came by to take their orders. Sarah ordered a Diet Coke and a Cobb salad. Tim had a glass of water and a club sandwich.

"Water, Tim?" Sarah questioned as the waitress walked away. "What happened to Caf-Pow?"

"After lunch I'm hanging out with Abby for the rest of the afternoon," he replied. "I figure she'll make more than one visit to the concession stand for a Caf-Pow."

"Concession stand? What are you guys doing?" she inquired.

"She has some friends in a band who are playing at this charity concert to raise money for leukemia research, specifically for kids who are battling it. She invited you too, if you want to come along."

"Tell her thanks but no thanks. I've got a ton of studying to do this afternoon," she responded.

"I figured as much. Hey, have you heard from Mom and Dad recently?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, Mom called me yesterday to see how my exams went. She kept rambling on about some scrapbooking club she's joined. Honestly, I don't see the point of it. It's just pictures on overpriced paper with stickers with lame phrases like 'A sister is a forever friend' pasted around it."

"But if it keeps Mom occupied, and it doesn't involve making candles, or knitting tissue box covers-" Tim started to say.

"Or worse. Remember when she got into making those paper maché earrings and necklaces?" Sarah interjected.

"Those I didn't mind so much. Probably because I'm not a girl."

"But it didn't stop her from making you and your entire scout troop key chains for your backpacks!" Sarah laughed.

"I was blocking that memory," Tim mumbled.

After finishing their food, Tim and Sarah stuck around for awhile, chatting and catching up on life. Finally, Tim checked his watch and realized that he needed to pick Abby soon if they wanted any chance of catching her friend's band playing. As they stood up to leave, he put an arm around his sister's shoulders and asked, "Seriously Sarah, how is grad school going?"

She heaved a large sigh. "It's pretty rough most of the time. I don't know what I'm doing there and I'm constantly second guessing myself. Even though I did okay in British Poets, that's just one class, and I really should have done better. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it in the end, but then I look at the people I graduated college with and most of them don't have jobs. Or even if they do have jobs, they've moved in with their parents because they can't make enough money to pay back their student loans and pay rent. There's really no easy way out right now for my class."

Tim stopped and gave her a hug. "It's not a great situation for anyone right now. But you have to look at what you'll get in the long run. And if you need help, you know where to find me. Remember, I've been through grad school at-" Tim stopped himself before he could give Sarah a chance to pick on him again.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. MIT," Sarah rolled her eyes and gave her big brother a punch in the arm. "Just don't let it get to your head. Oh wait, too late!"

Tim raised his eyebrows. "Hey now," he warned.

As they walked out of the door, she looked at him and added, "But I am glad that you'll always be here for me. Even when I fail Contemporary Female Authors."

He looked at her. "You failed?"

"Not yet, but by the end of the semester I bet I will. I just don't get the contemporary literature they want me to study."

"Well like I said before, you know where to find me if you need help," he gently reminded her.

She gave her brother a big hug. "Thanks Tim! Have fun at your concert with Abby. Give her a hug for me, will you?"

"Of course. Drive safely!" he called out as he headed to his car.

"Oh and Tim?" Sarah shouted across the lot. "Make sure that hug is from _me_ and not you," she added, giving her brother a wink.

"Right. Later sis!" Tim waved goodbye.

"Bye big brudder!" Sarah responded, using her childhood nickname for him.

Tim got in his car and headed for Abby's apartment. If he was lucky, he would make it there with enough time for them to make a stop at the concession stand before they headed into the concert.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own NCIS.

**A/N: **As (kind of) promised, here's a second chapter for today! I forgot to mention this before, but thanks so much to everyone who's commented so far! It really makes my day!

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**Chapter Three**

After picking Abby up at her apartment, Tim continued on to the concert. He had to hunt for awhile to find a parking spot, and he and Abby almost missed her friend's band's first song.

"So, uh, what's their name?" Tim asked as they quickly walked into the concert.

"Latex Death," she replied.

"What, does someone have an allergy?" he asked her.

"Either that or they just don't like condoms," she replied with a smirk.

Sensing an awkward moment, Tim chose to leave the comment alone. As he and Abby headed into the concert, she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the front of the lawn. He was surprised that he didn't feel more out of place among the other concertgoers. He assumed that everyone who would be there would be Goth, but as it turned out, all sorts of people were in attendance.

"Ooh, ooh! This is them!" Abby exclaimed as Latex Death took the stage. Tim eyed the group warily. The lead singer was wearing nothing but leather chaps and a top hat, while the bassist wore a black bodysuit with glow in the dark bones painted on it to resemble human anatomy. "Well this is going to be an interesting afternoon," he thought to himself.

After their first song ended he poked Abby in the ribs and asked, "Do you want me to get you a Caf-Pow from the concession stand?"

"Okay! Thanks, Timmy!" Abby answered.

As he headed off to the concession stands at the back of the lawn, Tim was grateful for the break his ears got. He didn't really mind the music so much, but Abby insisted on standing in front of the speakers. Oh well, this afternoon was about her after all. He loved to see her so happy and excited about the world. She truly had a heart of gold, and the extra donation she threw in when they paid for their tickets proved that.

After buying their requisite Caf-Pows, Tim noticed two guys and a girl standing and talking with Abby.

"My hero!" she exclaimed as he handed her a drink. "Timmy, I want you to meet some of my friends. This is Louie, Spike, and Bianca," she gestured at the three people standing with her.

"Nice to meet you all," Tim replied with a smile. All three of them were dressed in a similar fashion to Abby, except that he couldn't help noticing that Bianca's outfit was a bit more… revealing compared to what Abby wore.

"So you're Timothy," Bianca purred as she ran her fingernails up Tim's bare arm. And then Tim realized why she dressed the way she did.

Clearly uncomfortable, he said, "Um, yeah. Have you known Abby long?" He was desperate to draw the attention away from him, especially from Bianca.

Thrown off by Tim's question, Bianca stammered. "Um, well yes, but-"

"I've known Louie and Spike the longest," Abby interjected. "Bianca comes along with the package," she said with a smile.

The five of them continued to spend the rest of the afternoon together, even after Latex Death had finished their set. Eventually, Tim began to grow tired of Bianca's incessant flirting.

"Timmy! I'm all out!" Abby informed him as she shook her empty Caf-Pow in front of his face.

"Here, I'll get you a refill," Tim offered, glad to be away from the prongs of Bianca.

"Actually, I'm kinda hungry. I'll go with you and get something to eat too," Abby linked her arm in his and proceeded to steer them in the direction of the concession stand.

While they were waiting in line, Tim felt something vibrate in his pocket. He reached in and checked his phone. _Sarah_ it read, featuring a picture of her smiling in her cap and gown on her graduation day.

"Hang on Abby, it's Sarah," he told her. "I'll be right over there," he pointed behind the small building.

"Hey, Sarah. How's the studying coming?" he asked.

"Are you Tim McGee?" a hysterical female voice asked him.

"Yes. Who's this?"

"This is Sarah's roommate, Megan. You need to come quickly to the hospital!" she cried out.

"What happened?" Tim asked, trying to sound brave.

"She had been texting me all afternoon complaining of a headache. I thought it was just caffeine withdrawal, so we met at the coffee shop, and all of the sudden she closed her eyes because everything she saw hurt her too much, and then she just collapsed," Megan told him as she sobbed.

"Hang on, I'll be there as soon as I can," he told her.

Dazed, he hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. He ran back to the concession stand line and grabbed Abby by the arm.

"Come on!" he shouted over the noise of the band.

Confused, Abby asked, "What's going on?"

"Something's happened to Sarah! We need to get to the hospital now!" Tim yelled.

Hand in hand, they ran back to Tim's car. He only prayed that he wasn't too late.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I don't own NCIS, and I'm definitely not getting any money out of this.

**A/N:** There's one more chapter after this one! I hope I haven't lost any readers. I was kinda bummed that I didn't recieve any feedback about Chapter 3. Oh well, enjoy!

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**Chapter Four**

Tim barely remembered the drive to the hospital. All he knew was that Abby was next to him holding his hand the entire time. He had never been this terrified in his life. Sarah had to be okay! She was his baby sister and his best friend.

Once they arrived at the hospital, they were directed up to the fourth floor ICU, where they were approached by a young doctor.

"Are you Sarah McGee's family?" he asked Tim and Abby as they ran into the waiting room.

"Yes, I'm her brother," Tim replied. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"I'm sorry," the doctor responded in a solemn voice. "We did everything we could, but we were too late."

Tim felt the air being sucked out of his lungs. The world around him began to close in and he couldn't tell which way was up and which was down. Words floated in and out of his mind, like _brain aneurysm_ and _hemorrhaging_.

"Tim?" Abby's gentle voice brought him back to reality. "Tim, shouldn't you call your parents?"

"Um, yeah," he answered. That was going to be one phone call he never thought he would have to make. "Can I see her?"

"Of course. Take all the time you need," the doctor said.

"Abby," Tim began. "Would you, I mean, can you…" his voice trailed off.

"Would you like me to go in with you?" Abby asked. Tim slowly nodded his head.

She laced her fingers in his and together they began the walk to Sarah's room. When they arrived, Tim paused for a moment outside the door.

"Are you okay?" Abby asked, noticing a sudden paleness about him.

Without replying, he walked in the door, and she followed him in. There in the bed in the middle of the room was Sarah. His little sister. She looked as beautiful as she did when he saw her at lunch just a few hours earlier. The nurses had removed any tubes and equipment that she had been hooked up to, so she looked just like… Sarah. Tim walked up to his sister's bed and reached out to hold her lifeless hand.

"Sarah," he started to say as his lower lip began to tremble. Sensing that he needed support, Abby walked up to him and took his other hand in hers.

"It's okay, Timmy," she told him. "Tell her everything you want to."

As the first tear began to roll down his cheek, Tim began to shake a little.

"Sarah," he began once more. "You were the best little sister anyone could ask for. I'm so sorry I wasn't around to save you this time." At this point he began sobbing. Abby wrapped her arms around his middle and rubbed his back.

"Timmy, you heard what the doctor said," she reminded him. "There was no way that anyone could have saved her, it all happened too fast."

Tim let go of his sister's hand and wrapped his free arm around Abby. They stood like that for what felt like eternity while he cried. Eventually he calmed down and released Abby from his arms. He took a couple of steps towards the top of Sarah's bed, and leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. As he started to back away, Abby walked up to the young girl's bed.

"Sarah, you were the coolest," she told her as she looked forlornly at Sarah.

Tim stood there for a moment, taking everything in. Sarah was gone. There was nothing he could do to change that.

"Abby, I need to leave," he told her, afraid of another breakdown.

"Okay," she replied and took him by the hand as she led him out of the room.

When they got back to the waiting room, Tim noticed a girl about Sarah's age sitting by herself and crying.

"Are you Megan?" he asked her.

Sniffling, the girl responded, "Yes."

Tim knelt down next to her and looked into her eyes. "Thank you for calling me," he informed her.

"I just, I can't believe this happened!" Megan cried out. "All I thought she needed was some coffee, not the emergency room!"

"I know," he told her earnestly. "It's not your fault."

Megan began to sob harder. Abby knelt down on her other side and asked, "Do you need a ride back to campus?"

"Uh huh," she replied. "I rode in the ambulance here."

Abby glanced at Tim. He noticed her and told Megan, "I can give you a ride back. Just give me a minute to call my parents."

"Okay," she told him.

"Why don't we go down to the cafeteria and get something to drink?" Abby suggested to the girl.

The three of them headed to the elevator together. When they reached the first floor, Tim told them to go on in. He wanted to give his parents a call in the main lobby where it was quieter. He sat down in one of the plush chairs they had scattered about the room and hung his head. As he took a deep breath, he dialed his parents' home number.

"Mom," he began. "I have bad news."


	5. Chapter 5

**Diclaimer:**I don't own NCIS. My bank account will prove that.

**A/N:**Here it is - the last chapter! I hope everyone's enjoyed reading my story. Just to let you know, the name Sarah means 'princess' in Hebrew.

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**Chapter Five**

The next couple of days seemed like a dream to Tim. He went home for Sarah's funeral, but he barely remembered anything from it. He knew that Abby, Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, Ducky, and Palmer all attended both the visiting hours and the funeral itself, but he couldn't recall anything they said or did. He tried to not dwell on how Sarah looked as she laid in her coffin, or that his mom wept uncontrollably for the entire duration of the funeral. Family and friends from all over the country had come in for the service. Some of them Tim had met before, some of them he hadn't, and he knew he wouldn't remember who they were now. His childhood home felt strange and empty without Sarah there. Life was quiet and very empty. Before he knew it, his week of paid leave had ended and he returned back to his apartment in D.C.

He had boarded Jethro at a kennel just before the funeral. Abby had volunteered to dog-sit, but that meant she wouldn't be able to attend the funeral. Tim needed her now more than ever, so instead she helped him find the best kennel for Jethro to stay at. For someone who had a strange obsession with death and coffins, Abby was so quiet and reserved at the funeral it was uncomfortable for Tim. After losing Kate a few years earlier, and Director Shepherd just a few months earlier, they were both done with funerals. Even though Abby wasn't her usual bouncy self, just having her around made him feel a little better.

Without Jethro, Tim's apartment was lifeless and… clean? He sniffed the air and could pick out the smell of Pine-Sol and Windex, with just a touch of something else. Was that vanilla? He walked into his room, and sure enough, a partially burned vanilla candle was sitting on his nightstand.

"Must have been Abby's doing," Tim mused to himself.

He flopped back on his bed. Since Sarah's death, he had only a few precious moments to himself. It was relaxing just to be alone, although that's when all of the terrible thoughts entered his mind. He knew her death couldn't have been prevented by him, or by anyone else. But he still worried. What if he had an aneurysm too? He had read in a medical journal online that they were hereditary, and even though they were more common in females, they still happened in males as well. He was still in the age bracket where they were the most common too. What if his parents ended up losing their daughter and their son?

Tim rolled over to his side and held his pillow against his body as if he was spooning it. He closed his eyes and felt the tears start to come. It just wasn't fair. Sarah still had so much left in her life. She would never finish her Master's. She would never get married, have kids, or have a career she loved. All of her dreams died with her.

He heard a soft knock at the door. Wiping his eyes, he sat up and looked at himself in the mirror.

"Well, I don't look like I've been crying, at least not too much," he thought.

He opened the door and wasn't entirely too surprised to see Abby standing there.

"Hi Timmy," she whispered. "I know you're supposed to bring food and stuff after someone, well, you know, but you weren't here, and now you are, and I figured you didn't have any groceries, so here." She thrust the casserole dish she had been holding into his hands.

"Abby you really didn't have to do this," Tim told her.

"I wanted to make sure you had something to eat. It's vegetable lasagna. Ziva helped me too."

"Oh, well thanks. And tell Ziva thank you also," he replied. "I take it you cleaned my apartment too?"

"Yeah, I thought it was a good time to get it really clean since Jethro wasn't around," she said.

Tim lifted the corner of the foil covering the dish and peeked at the lasagna. He wasn't really the biggest fan of veggie lasagna, but since Abby made it for him he'd give it a shot.

"Smells good," he told her as he glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's about dinnertime. Would you like some?"

"Well, it's your food, and I don't want to take any away from you, but if you want the company, I'll stick around," Abby replied.

"Don't be ridiculous! You're not taking it away from me. You're the one who made it. Come on, have just a little bit."

"Alright, but just a little piece," she conceded.

They ate mostly in silence, except for little bits of awkward small talk. Tim had learned to dread one question more than others: How are you doing? He was never sure what the appropriate response was. If he answered honestly and said he was doing lousy, then he would either receive pity from people, or he would be judged because shouldn't he be more concerned about how his parents were doing? After all, they did lose their only daughter. Never mind that he had lost his only sister. If he said that he was doing fine, then it seemed like he didn't care about Sarah that much, which was the furthest thing from the truth.

"Penny for your thoughts," Abby interrupted Tim's musings.

"It's nothing," he muttered.

"Then why are you frowning?" she asked.

Tim hadn't realized that he had been relaying his thoughts into his facial expressions. He relaxed his face.

"I'm not frowning."

"Not anymore you're not, but you've been making the most awful faces this whole meal!" Abby argued. A dejected look crossed her face. "Is it the lasagna?"

"Oh no, that's not it at all," Tim replied, which actually wasn't far from the truth. Even though it was meatless, the lasagna was pretty tasty. "I'm just thinking."

"I can see that. About what?" she pressed on.

God, she just didn't know when to quit sometimes. He sighed and said, "About Sarah. Well, more specifically about people asking me how I'm doing."

"And people being concerned about your well-being makes you upset?"

"No," he exclaimed. "That's not it at all. I just don't know what to say to people anymore."

"The truth?" Abby suggested.

"I don't need their pity, thanks."

"But Tim, people are genuinely worried about you. You've been through a lot, especially in the last few months. And I know you're all Special Agent-like and you know that your job is risky and sometimes people will get killed, but your sister died getting a cup of coffee, and that wasn't supposed to happen. You're only human, what if you've reached your breaking point? How am I supposed to know if you're okay if I don't ask?" she babbled on.

Tim caught himself smiling. Halfway through her rant, Abby had changed from talking about 'people' to 'I'.

"Here's a hint," he told her. "If I smile a little bit every day, then I'm probably doing okay. And it's nice to know that you're so concerned."

"It's not just me though, Timmy! Even Tony has been worried about you. He doesn't show it very well, but I know it's there. And I get so scared that sometimes you can't handle everything that's happened to you, and what if then one day you're gone too!"

Tim set down his fork and took Abby's hand in his. "Abby," he began. "I promise you, I'm not going anywhere, not by my choice or anyone else's. Yes, I miss Sarah, and I will always miss her, but I swear to you, I'm not going to kill myself."

Abby narrowed her eyes. "Promise?"

"Pinky promise," he reassured her.

A huge smile came onto Abby's face. She flung herself into his arms. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that!"

"I think I have an idea," Tim softly spoke into her ear as he wrapped his arms around her slender body. He had forgotten what this was like. For once, when Abby hugged him, he felt needed by her. He placed a tender kiss on her neck.

"Mmm," she purred. She pulled back enough so that she could give Tim a kiss on the mouth. It was a slow and leisurely kiss, but full of excitement. He kissed her back as she ran her fingers through his hair.

As they broke apart, Abby smiled and told him, "We should do that again sometime."

He chuckled and replied, "Anytime you want."

She snuggled against his chest. This was one of the best feelings in the world, he decided.

"Hey, I need to pick up Jethro from the kennel. Want to come with me?" he asked.

She immediately perked up. "Would I? Of course!"

He figured that would be her response. He grabbed his keys and Jethro's leash and together the two of them headed for the door. Abby placed her hand in his as they walked to the car, and Tim knew his healing process had begun at last.

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**A/N:** I wrote this story to help me deal with my grief after losing two of my grandparents in about a two week time period at the end of this past summer. I actually had an aunt who died of a brain aneurysm, so this story is very close to my heart. Unfortunately, last night my Papa passed away, so I may be taking a break from writing. I was only able to publish this story because I had reached a point where I was detached from the emotions I felt while writing it. Those emotions are all back now, but I decided to publish the last chapter of this because I didn't want to leave anyone hanging. I'm sure I'll write again, and I may write things but not publish them for awhile. So don't give up on me just yet; I will be back someday!


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